Pride in Austria: A travel guide for LGBTQ+ travellers

Love is love! Austria welcomes queer guests with open arms – during Pride month and throughout the whole year. Vienna is the country’s heart of the LGBTQ+ community, however, queer events and hotspots are not limited to the capital. With Pride month coming up, let’s have a look at all the events taking place in the summer, and the most popular LGBTQ+ hotspots all year round, from clubs and cafes to Austria’s first queer mountain hut.  

Good to know: Gay marriage was legalised in Austria in 2019, while same-sex couples have been able to adopt children since 2016.  
 

PRIDE PARADES AND CELEBRATIONS 

Taking place from 25 May to 9 June this year, the Vienna Pride is Austria’s largest annual LGBTQ+ event and features parties, walks, talks, exhibitions, and even yoga sessions. The highlight is the 28th edition of the Pride Parade on 8 June, where over 300,000 participants are expected on the iconic Ringstrasse for a colourful celebration and demonstration of life and unity. The Pride Parade ends at the Pride Village on Rathausplatz, a temporary tent city with a packed event schedule, making its big comeback after four years from 6 to 8 June.  

Vienna, of course, isn’t the only Austrian city celebrating Pride: Graz (1 July), Linz (6 July), and Innsbruck (27 July) all have their own Pride Parades, while Salzburg hosts a Pride Festival from 30 August to 8 September.  

VIENNA TO HOST EUROGAMES FOR THE FIRST TIME

Europe’s largest LGBTQ+ sports event, organised by the European Gay & Lesbian Sport Federation (EGLSF) since the early 1990s, will take place in Vienna for the first time from 17 – 20 July. 3,000 athlethes are expected to participate in the EuroGames 2024. The centre of the action will be the Resselpark at Karlsplatz, which will be transformed into a colourful EuroGames Village for the four days. There will be daily competitions from 4 to 10 PM as well as a side programme with stand-up comedy, concerts and drag shows, food trucks and drinks stalls, as well as chill out areas.
 

CLUBS, BARS, AND CAFES: LGBTQ+ HOTSPOTS ALL YEAR ROUND

It goes without saying that queer events and spaces are not limited to Pride month. Some of the most popular LGBTQ+ hang outs in Vienna include Villa Vida (a café and restaurant hosting events such as queer speed dating and drag queen brunch), Café Savoy (for cake and coffee in a history-filled setting), and Motto am Fluss (a stylish restaurant on a boat on the Danube). Want to sip aperol spritz and dance the night away? Head to Village Bar, Mango Bar, Why Not or Ken Club (dance events at changing locations). Pinked Vienna have made themselves a name with their girls-only clubbings.  

In Salzburg, head to HOSI Bar, Mexxx Gay Bar, or Dark Eagle (men only), in Graz to Stars Bar Café and The FAGtory Club, and in Linz to forty nine and Ohne Zwang (daytime bar), all queer bars, cafes, and clubbing locations where travellers can dive straight into the local LGBTQ+ scene.  

 

QUEER-FRIENDLY HOTELS IN AUSTRIA

No holiday would be complete without the right accommodation where guests will feel straight at home – and some of Austria’s hotels are known to be especially queer friendly. Vienna’s Hotel Motto is an elegant haven with a Parisian flair right in the heart of the city, celebrating individuality and uncompromising authenticity, while Hotel Sans Souci makes a stylish urban retreat amidst Vienna’s artistic centre. Looking for a smaller hideaway? Hotel-Pension Wild has made been known as a cosy LGBTQ+ hideaway for decades.  

Trip to the countryside? Hotel Nesslerhof in SalzburgerLand’s Grossarl Valley is a LGBTQ+-friendly sports and wellness hotel with a large adults-only spa (featuring many treatment options), a natural swimming pond, and a stylish restaurant serving Austrian delights with a modern twist. Hotel MorgenZeit in Maria Alm, also in SalzburgerLand, welcomes love birds with a natural pool with stunning mountain views, saunas, a spa world, and their popular brunch. In Tirol’s Alpbachtal, Hotel Pirchnerhof ranks among the most popular LGBTQ+ hotels, offering an extensive spa area, yoga, meditation, forest therapy, and all kinds of outdoor activities. Haus Romeo in the Kitzbühel Alps is a men-only apartment hotel open only during the winter season.  
 

AUSTRIA'S FIRST QUEER MOUNTAIN HUT

Austria’s first queer mountain hut Absteige zur bärtigen Therese (“The bearded Therese) is located on Styria’s beautiful Koralm 1,000 m above sea level and is open from May to the end of October, before starting into the winter season in December. Guests can look forward to ten artsy rooms to choose from, Austrian cuisine at their in-house restaurant, an exquisite range of wines from queer vineyards at the bar, and queer events and celebrity guests.  

Their summer highlights include two Queer Summer Retreats (mixed queer and allies), a queer art retreat, or weekends for men or women only.  
 

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